Definition

A contagious disease that affects pigs, caused by a virus and marked by skin sores.

Example

The farmer had to quarantine the infected pigs to prevent the spread of swinepox.

Conversation

Did you hear about that outbreak of swinepox at the farm down the road?

Yeah, I read about it; it sounds pretty serious for the pigs.

I hope they can contain it before it spreads further.

Same here, I wouldn't want to see any more animals affected.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Root Explanation

Swinepox is formed from "swine" (from Old English "swīn", meaning pig) and "pox" (from Latin "pocca", meaning a pimple or sore). The word refers to a disease affecting pigs characterized by pimple-like sores.

Memory Tip

Think of 'swine' meaning pig and 'pox' referring to sores — swinepox is a disease that causes sores on pigs.

Visually Confused Words